Remember Fear the Boot, the guys who interviewed me back in May? As I mentioned the other day, they have been nominated for the Gen Con EN World RPG Awards. I could tell you to get out there and vote for whoever you think is best, but I’d be lying if I claimed I was doing this for altruistic reasons. I just want my friends to win. So if you like the show, please vote for them. If you don’t, then please don’t click on this link, visit the site, and cast a vote for Fear the Boot in the “Best Podcast” category.

My fellow players and I use the ‘out-of-character conversation!’ trick to get round tricky situations all the time… but I don’t think our DM likes it very much. On the other hand, he at least makes sure that we announce it’s an OOC conversation beforehand!

Ooooooh! This one illustrates a MAJOR pet peeve of mine. I have a house rule in any game I run: Any conversation relating to the game world is considered IC unless you have a VERY good reason to demonstrate why it should be considered OOC. If its something like “does a rapier do d6 or d8” I’ll let it pass, but if tactical or in game story information is exchanged, I count it as IC no matter what the PC say. Of course, my players try all sorts of things to get around that when things slip, like “Ummm, we were both speaking Ignan, yeah, that’s it! See, it’s on both our characters sheets!” But I’m pretty strict about this one.

Funny comic though Shamus. I can’t wait to see how Aragorn get’s his comeuppance from the King of the Dead.

My players actually do pretty good with that stuff so far. Last night they even took the NPC party member aside so they could all discuss using the halfling caravan for bait to catch the bandits rather than having the conversation right in front of them.

I’ve now been exiled from downstairs because I’ve been laughing so much at this comic.
“We’re right here you know”
Been and voted for Fear the Boot, ’cause, seriously, after reading something like a hundred of your comics, I’m going to do whatever the hell you say.

Hopefuly my previous posts were indicative of their intended sarcastic nature. I’ve been recently informed that my sarcastometer is off today.

I’m more than flattered that you used my image. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought it was funny. Much funnier than Robert Frost. But not funnier than Robert Frost with his tongue stuck to a pole. That would be all kinds of awesome.

My IC-OOC rule is something like “What you say isn’t automatically In Character, but something like it is. For instance, if the players are arguing I assume the characters are arguing. If they’re talking about Monty Python or anime, then their characters are talking about something similarly popular in the game.

If they say something like, “We go a distance away so we aren’t overheard” and then start talking loudly, the other party gets a Listen check. Actually they get one anyway, the DC’s higher if they stay quiet in their conversation, though.

Like that last line. Pure brilliance! Here’s an idea, when Aragorn faces Sauron’s messager at the black gates, have his sword changed into a lightsaber trick to off lop his head off, with Sauron speaking in his mind saying, “Good! Good! Your hate as made you powerful……”

Can I believe my eyes? There are DMs here who allow out of character discussions involving non “rules question” issues?

“Ni!”

Steve’s Law: There is no such thing as an out-of-character discussion about how to react to events or people. Anything you say in that context can be taken down and used as an excuse by the NPC’s (if they overhear, of course).

Hi, A friend of mine suggested this comic and I’ve zoomed through it from beginning to where it is now in the past week. I want to say that I think it’s genius. I love the idea and humour, but what I want to know is when will the players actually learn that the campaign’s based on a real book?! :-) It’s getting close to the end and I would love to see how they’d react when the realize the DM’s plagiarised the storyline. What’s more, if they skipped to the final chapter they’d know how everything was going to end!! Let’s see how the DM would handle that.

“59 Jack Says:
…
I love the idea and humour, but what I want to know is when will the players actually learn that the campaign's based on a real book?! :-) It's getting close to the end and I would love to see how they'd react when the realize the DM's plagiarised the storyline.
…”

[shamus] I’ve been looking at this one for a bit and I have to say that the expression you picked for Gimli for the response to overly-shooty Legolas conveys perfectly (to me) the weary tone of voice a seasoned role player might use when defusing a situation he has seen too many times before.

It is touches like this, whether intentional (which I’m assuming) or happy accident, that make this comic so much more than simply a clever screen-grab narrative.

Yes, the D&Disms we see in real games are amusing to throw into relief in this context, though for the life of me I can’t figure out why they are so funny, since just writing a comic that illustrates the same point for its own sake isn’t. But they don’t make DMotR the must-read that it is for me.

It is the combination of the “average D&D player” reactions being so at odds with those of Tolkien’s characters’ and the clever use of dialogue and screen grab that really make DMotR more than the other players in the field.

I’m glad you chose to keep doing the strip, even though you started it as a diversion, and probably intended to stop after three or four episodes. I can see the skill you use developing as the stories progress.

Which is why I wish you hadn’t “done a Lucas” and revisited the earlier episodes. They stood for something beyond the story itself and were a fine illustration of the creative process underway.

That said, I am looking forward to seeing the story through to whatever conclusion you’ve got in mind.